New Productivity Hack

When I get stressed or overwhelmed, I force myself to do specific things with a very rigid to do list and all kinds of pressure to complete it in time.

Well — after a couple of weeks of not sleeping and feeling stressed 24/7 I decided to try something different…

Rather than channel that nervous energy into a to-do list I simply trust myself with a choice.

Where I would normally say “I have to do this, this, this and this.” I tap into what I feel like doing and I trust my instincts and make a decision based on a balance between what feels right and what high priority things I need to do. And the “I have to” transforms into ” I choose to”.

I actually got this idea from a parenting technique that works wonders on kids in their more stubborn stages of development.

Rather than say “You have to eat your vegetables now.” the parent offers a choice “Would you like to eat carrots, peas, or broccoli?”.

Most of the time the child will choose without much of  a fight when the question is poised as an honest set of choices versus a power play such as “you can either eat carrots or peas but NO OREOS FOR YOU!” (that never goes over very well).

So I decided to test this on myself and it has been working beautifully.

I have gotten more done in the past week than I have in a month. I am sleeping without pills. And I am very happy about my work and my life.

I feel at peace with my work flow and when I do start working I get so much done and I don’t feel the same pressure and stress I did before.

This productivity hack works because it plays into your brain’s desire to create and “stretch it’s legs” a bit.

Without offering choices that derail productivity like watching shows all day or laying in bed for hours you offer choices of things that all offer value in different ways and trust yourself to choose the best one.

I really love this and I feel much closer to myself.

Have you tried it?

Do you have any productivity tips that work for you?

Leave them in the comments and I will respond asap : )

xoxo

Kels